


I Didn't Choose You, My Heart Did

by i_hate_everything_except_fandoms



Category: Emmerdale
Genre: Catch-up chat, Heart-to-Heart, Kinda fluff, Lots of different characters get mentioned but don't show up, M/M, Mostly canonical stuff, kinda smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-09
Updated: 2018-09-09
Packaged: 2019-07-10 03:07:27
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,127
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15940532
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/i_hate_everything_except_fandoms/pseuds/i_hate_everything_except_fandoms
Summary: Joe and Graham finally find the time to have their catch-up chat but it ends up going quite differently to how they expected.





	I Didn't Choose You, My Heart Did

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Joham_Fate](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Joham_Fate/gifts).



> So, I know that we've all been quite annoyed that Emmerdale haven't let Joe and Graham talk properly yet so I wrote my own version of events.
> 
> Written from the promt, "I want you to stay" given to me by joham-fate on Tumblr. Hope you like it!

Graham entered the living room of Home Farm, surprised to see only Joe sat on his own.

"Where's Debbie?" He asked the younger man.

"She's gone to check up on Belle and then she's going into the hospital to see Sarah."

"Ah, I see," Graham replied, finding that his brain would tell him nothing else but the fact that they were alone over and over again.

"We could have that catch-up now, if you'd like?" Joe suggested, his big, blue eyes staring up at Graham from where he sat on the sofa.

Graham took a deep breath, "Yes, that'd be nice."

He moved around the coffee table to sit next to Joe but remained silent; Joe would initiate the conversation when he found the right words to say.

"So..." Joe began, "how were things at the clinic?"

"Not too bad. The ex-squaddies are tough but not unfair and they definitely know how to... sort people like _me_ out."

He wasn't lying exactly but he certainly wasn't telling the full truth about how things had been during his time there. Behind his eyes, the memories of the clinic swirled and he shut them for a second before reopening them.

Joe could sense that there was more to it than that but he wasn't going to push Graham if he didn't want to tell him.

"Do you think you'll stay sober for good this time?" Joe asked. He knew that the question was blunt, but he couldn't help it; he needed to know.

Graham wasn't annoyed at the question. How could he be, when it clear that Joe was just looking for closure on the past?

"I hope so," he said. "I should, anyway. This time, I'm going to try as hard as I possibly can to not let you down - I promise."

Joe nodded, smiling. He was touched by Graham's determination to always be there for him, or at least for as long as he could.

"Anyway," Graham said, "what's been going on around here since I left? Other than the police investigations on our land, of course."

Joe grinned slightly at the way Graham had said, " _our_ land". 

"Well," Joe began, "I employed Priya to work for me, as you know. The hospital found a heart for Sarah, actually, but unfortunately it turned out that it wasn't viable, which made things incredibly difficult for everyone. Then Sarah decided that she didn't want to have her heart transplant because she overheard Faith saying that it might not work, which ended up with Faith basically kidnapping Sarah to prove to her that the transplant was worth going ahead with." 

Joe paused to gauge Graham's reaction so far.

Graham nodded slowly, before saying, "So I guess she's changed her mind on the matter now?"

"Yes, thank goodness," Joe replied. "So after that happened, Charity revealed that she had a son that no one knew about. His father is the cop that they're having a court trial for. She thought that her son died but it turns out that he's still alive. His name is Ryan. And then, of course, there's been the police case in the background of everything but you know about most of that already."

"Wow, I'm away for a month and it all kicks off," Graham joked; his face still as stoical as ever. 

"Yes, well... I'm glad you're back," Joe said quietly, avoiding eye contact.

Graham's eyes flicked up to Joe's face, searching it. His gaze was so sincere as he looked back at Graham, waiting for a reply.

"You told me to never come back," Graham stated. He didn't blame Joe for his decision but it still hurt to think about the way he'd cast him out.

Joe moved closer to Graham, looking at him more intently. Their eyes locked together, not leaving the other's for even a second.

"I want you to stay, Graham," Joe told him, "I wanted you to stay, even then - I just didn't know it. I was hurting and I felt betrayed. I'm sorry."

"No, don't be sorry. I beat you up; you had every right to kick me out. I'm the one who should be apologising, so - I'm sorry."

It was at that moment that Graham realised just how close together they were sat; if Joe moved any nearer he'd be on Graham's lap, not that either of them had a problem with that.

"Joseph..." Graham spoke, his voice now husky with lust.

"Graham..." Joe replied, slightly teasingly, but, like Graham, his tone was also lust filled.

It was hard to tell who initiated the kiss, as both closed the gap at the same time, their mouths moving together in perfect sync - something that was hardly surprising, considering all the years that they'd known one another.

The kiss was passionate; the emotion of having wanted to do this for so many years evident within it.

Graham pulled Joe on to his lap and Joe began straddling him, eliciting a moan out of both of them.

"Bedroom..." Graham managed to growl out, looking up at Joe's red face above him with dark eyes.

Joe smirked and climbed off Graham's lap before they ran upstairs to Joe's room.

\- - - - - -

Graham glanced down at Joe, who was sleeping soundly against his bare chest. He let out a sigh of contentment, wishing this moment could last forever. It couldn't though; of _course_ it couldn't because Joe was engaged to be married to Debbie.

With that thought in mind, Joe stirred from his slumber, blinking up at Graham and then smiling softly. 

"Hey," he murmured.

"Hello," Graham replied, his tone soft as he stroked Joe's hair.

"What time is it?" Joe asked.

Graham checked his watch.   
"It's 2 o'clock," Graham told him.

"Oh... okay."

"What's wrong?" Graham enquired.

"It's just that... Debbie said she'd be back at half-two," Joe explained.

"Ah, I see. Well, I suppose we'd better get dressed then," Graham said, trying to hide his disappointment.

He shifted underneath Joe's body, moving to get out of bed. 

"Graham..." Joe began, his tone sad.

"You're engaged, Joe. And if you still want to marry her, then she can't find out about this."

"I don't know what I was thinking," Joe admitted, "I mean, I like her; she's funny, strong, independent, but... she's not _you_."

Graham sighed, "Marry her, Joe."

"What?"

"Marry her," he repeated, before leaving the room. 

Graham dressed in his own room, trying not to think to much about how Joe had looked when he'd pressed him against the matress and worked a finger inside his ass. Shaking himself from his explicit thoughts, he opened his laptop.

Graham typed the words _'Prenuptial agreement'_ into the search bar and pressed enter with an amused glint in his eyes.

_'This could be very fun.'_


End file.
